Of Past Regret & Future Fear
by Severus. . . please
Summary: If you're an old-school PR fan, this is the fic for you. The MMPR and Zeo Rangers are back to face-off against a team of former allies. So, what do you do when you have to fight the Power in order to keep the Power?
1. Default Chapter

_Disclaimer: We do not own the Power Rangers. We do, however, own the characters that you do not remember from the show. Just as a note: Andrea used to be Billy's assistant in the Power Chamber, and also used to be his girlfriend before he left for Aquitar. We'll explain this in depth throughout the story. God Bless!_

**Of Past Regret and Future Fear** _by BlueWolf, AdamsJane, and LukasChica_

It was dark when he entered the Command Center. It had been years since he had been here; he wasn't sure if he was still allowed inside since he no longer possessed a power coin. He found the doors opened with ease and heaved a sigh of relief. "Once a Ranger, always a Ranger," he smiled and entered into the Power Chamber. He took in a deep breath, breathing in the same musty smell that he had breathed in close to 8 years ago. Tossing his backpack on the ground, he glanced around.. That's when he saw her. She was asleep on the scanning bed near the back of the Chamber. Tilting his head slightly and chuckling, he quietly made his way across the room. Sitting on the edge of the bed, he reached out and smoothed her hair away from her face. "Andy," he whispered. "Andy… wake up, beautiful," He smiled, lightly stroking her face.

Andrea Carter moaned softly and rolled over onto her back. It took her brain a moment to process the voice, but once it did, her eyes fluttered open. She just lay there, looking up at the ceiling. not believing what her mind and heart were telling her. No, it's not possible... she thought, feeling the gentle familiar hand on her face. Taking a deep breath, she turned her head into the hand, and looked into the eyes of Billy Cranston.

Billy smiled warmly at her. "Hey," he said softly.

Andy smiled back. "Hey yourself, stranger."

"How are you?"

"I'm alright; what about you?"

"Much better, now."

She grinned and started to sit up, but Billy put his hands on either side of the bed, keeping her down. He looked deep into her eyes; she was so beautiful. He had missed her so much. "I'm so sorry," he whispered.

"I know," she whispered back, never breaking eye contact.

He leaned down and gently kissed her lips. Electricity surged throughout his body; no one else had ever made him feel this way.

Andrea gently placed a hand on his face and moaned almost inaudibly against his lips.

Billy pulled away, smirking. "Did ya miss me that much?"

Andy returned his smirk. "Maybe.."

"Maybe." he grinned before leaning down to kiss her again. Refusing to break the kiss, he pulled back the blanket, lay down beside Andrea, and then covered them both with the blanket.

It was Andy's turn to break the kiss. "You sure you want to do this here?" she asked playfully.

"Maybe..." Billy grinned before enveloping her lips once again. He continued to kiss and caress her for a few minutes before taking her in his arms. "Let's do this right... in a place where 5 people and a robot won't find us in the morning."

She nodded, touching her forehead to his.

"Tomorrow night... just you and me." He smiled warmly. "I promise you, I'll make it a night you will never forget."

"I know you will," Andrea smiled back and kissed him gently before relaxing in his arms.

He kissed her forehead and held her tight, never wanting to let go. The two fell asleep within minutes, smiles on both of their faces.

**

* * *

****::THUD::**

Andrea fell out of the chair she had been sleeping in. right onto her injured arm. She lay flat on her back, eyes closed and tried to withhold her screams.

"Man, what kind of dream were you having?"

The voice startled her and she opened her eyes. "Actually, Tommy, this one was half-way decent," she forced a smile and took the hand he offered.

"Oh, so it was about Billy," Tommy joked as he helped Andy to her feet.

"Shut up!" she playfully smacked him on the arm.

He grinned for a few seconds before becoming serious. "How's your arm?"

Andrea glanced at her right arm and adjusted the sling. "Hurts... but I think the sling somewhat protected it."

Tommy didn't seem convinced. "You should probably do a scan on it."

She shrugged it off. "It's fine……."

"Andy..."

She sighed. "Alright, fine. I'll do it." She knew better than to argue with him.

"I'll come with you," Tommy volunteered as they went to a deserted area of the Rec Center. "Ready?"

"Let's do it," she said without much enthusiasm.

Tommy laughed. "That's my girl!," he grinned before the two teleported in flashes of light to the newly restored Command Center.


	2. Chapter 2

**Chapter 2**

"See, I told you it was alright." Andrea smirked and shoved the readouts from the bio-scanner against Tommy's chest.

"Hey, better to be safe than sorry," he grinned back.

"True," she looked around the Power Chamber. "I can't believe we did all of this!"

Tommy laughed. "You mean we did all of this," he joked, referring to himself, Jason, Rocky, Zack, and Adam.

"Hey now, I did as much as I could with this," Andy raised her slinged arm a bit.

"I know," he smiled.

Both were quiet for few seconds, taking in the newly restored Command Center, before Andrea spoke up quietly. "He's not gonna show, is he?" she asked sadly.

"I don't know, sweetheart......." Tommy whispered as he pulled her in for a hug. After a minute, he pulled away and looked into her eyes. "Would you honestly take him back after this?"

She chuckled ruefully. "I don't know." She looked up at the ceiling, fighting back tears, and then back at Tommy. "I honestly don't know what..." she trailed off as she caught a glimpse of a figure over Tommy's shoulder.

Tommy turned to see what she was looking at.

As the figure walked closer, they both could see that is was none other than the original blue ranger himself.

Tommy stepped forward first, embracing his old friend. "Billy! Good to see you, man!"

Billy smiled. "Thanks; you too, Tommy." He grew quiet as he looked at Andy. "Andrea..." He touched her face with hands as gentle as his voice.

Andy pulled away from him as if she had been hit.

"I'll leave you two alone; give you some time to catch up." Tommy said to the two.

They both just nodded.

Tommy gave Andrea a small smile before disappearing in a streak of white light.

Billy moved closer to his ex-girlfriend. "Andrea, I am so sorry..." he whispered.

It took every ounce of strength Andrea had not to kiss him… or slap him, for that matter. She just took in a deep breath and nodded. "Did, uh, did you see what we did to the Command Center?" she asked nervously, casting short glances into his gorgeous green eyes.

Billy smiled. "You're all I want to see..." he trailed off as he leaned in to kiss her.

His lips brushed against hers for a brief second before she put her hands on his chest and roughly shoved him away. He looked at her like she was crazy. "Andrea?"

Andy stood there, her mouth open slightly, not able to speak... so she just walked away, confused, angry, and her lips on fire.


	3. Chapter 3

**Chapter 3**

Tommy walked back into the Youth Center after teleporting into an empty area of the parking lot. He spotted his large group in a corner, so he made his way over to them and sat down. "Hey guys, what's up?"

Kim, Jason, Zack, Rocky, Adam, Tanya, Aisha, and Kat said their hellos before Aisha spoke up.

"Hey, Tommy... Where's Andy? I thought she was with you."

Tommy grew quiet for a moment before responding. "Command Center. Billy's back."

The group grew silent. Only Kimberly and Zack looked confused.

"What's up with Billy and Andy?" Kim asked innocently.

Jason took a deep breath before explaining. "Shortly after you left for the Pan-Global games, Billy and Andrea started dating. They dated for a little over a year... The relationship had gotten pretty serious; Billy even mentioned marriage to me at one point."

"So... what happened?" Zack asked, curious as to what broke apart the two technical advisors.

"Well, Billy started to age as a side effect from his regenerator, so the Alien Rangers took him to Aquitar to cure him." Jason paused. "After he was cured, he sent back a transmission saying that he was staying on Aquitar; that Cestria was the only one who ever truly understood him."

Kim put a hand to her mouth. "Oh my gosh, poor Andy!"

"Yeah, she stuck around for a little while longer and then took off." Tommy finished. "She just couldn't take it anymore."

"How could Billy do that?!" Zack asked incredulously.

"I dunno, man... But there has to be a reason... a good one." Tommy looked at his friends as they nodded in agreement.

**

* * *

****MEANWHILE, SOMEWHERE IN THE COMMAND CENTER...**

"Andy! Where are you going?" Billy shouted as he followed her through the dark corridors.

Andy was silent as she opened a door that led to a medical exam room. She entered the room and flipped on the lights.

Billy followed her in. "Hey, I heard you decided to go to college..." he said, trying to start a conversation.

Andrea just nodded as she reached into a medicine cabinet and withdrew a vial of toradol and a syringe.

"Why'd you leave Angel Grove?" he asked, curious.

She glanced at him and then back to the drugs. "Why'd you come back?" she shot back.

"Why did you?" he retorted.

"I asked you, first..." she muttered, drawing the liquid into the syringe and putting the cap back over the needle.

"Oh yeah, real mature." Billy rolled his eyes.

Andy slammed the vial down on the counter, causing it to shatter. "You think you can just come back here after being gone for nearly a decade and expect things to be the same as they were before you left?!" she shouted at him. "You can't do that, Billy! It doesn't work that way!"

"Andrea…" The sadness in Billy's voice was quite evident as he braced himself against the counter. "I… OW!..." the former ranger drew his hand back in pain.

"Are you okay?!" Andrea was immediately at his side.

"Yeah…" Billy sucked on the jagged cut on his finger.

"No, you're not. Let me see it." She took his hand and examined the cut. "I'll clean that up for you, if you'd like."

"Only if you let me give you that injection." He smiled a little.

Andrea smiled back. "Deal. Now, sit." She pointed to a nearby exam bed.

"Yes ma'am." Billy joked.

"William…" Andrea started in a warning tone as she gathered the necessary supplies.

Billy sat up straight, trying to behave himself

"Okay," Andy pulled up a stool and sat in front of him. "This may sting a little." She gently began to cleanse the wound with an alcohol pad.

Billy winced in pain. "You said 'a little'…"

She looked up at him, unable to hold back a smile. "Baby."

Their eyes locked; the tension in the room was almost unbearable.

It took everything Andrea had to break the gaze. "Well… it's not deep enough to need stitches…" she trailed off.

He nodded silently, still looking at her.

She cleared her throat and covered the cut with a small band-aid.

Billy held up his newly bandaged finger. "SpongeBob, huh?" he smirked.

"You got a problem with that, Blue Boy?" Andrea grinned.

"Not at all." Billy stood up. "Now it's your turn. Sit."

Andy grumbled and sat down, watching as he placed the syringe she had carefully drawn up on bed and then carefully removed her sling.

"How did you do this?" Billy asked, keeping his voice soft and his hands gentle as he examined her badly bruised arm.

"I was, um, repairing Titanus."

"Oh, that's right. Titanus and Tor still lie dormant." Billy said, wiping a small area of Andrea's lower arm with an alcohol pad. He knew she was lying, but he would let her tell him the truth when she was ready to. Picking up the syringe, he looked into her eyes. "You still hate needles?"

Andy smiled and nodded sheepishly.

He uncapped the needle. "That's alright," he smiled at her. "I promise you won't feel a thing."

Andrea smiled at him again.

"Alright, close your eyes, sweetheart..." Billy said in a soothing voice, holding her arm with one hand and the syringe in the other. "Good... Now take a deep breath..."

Andy did as she was told and Billy skillfully slid the needle into her arm.

A few seconds later, she peered out of one eye to see what he was doing.

Billy laughed as he capped the needle once more. "It's over, Andy. You can relax now." He threw the empty syringe into the nearby Sharps box. "And to think you were going to inject that yourself," he grinned and sat back down beside her.

"How did you get so good at that?" Andrea asked.

"Practice," he continued to grin. "Med. School makes you do that, you know."

"You went to med. school?!" she asked incredulously, slipping her sling back on.

He laughed. "Yeah, in Chicago."

"So, you've been back on Earth for..." Andy trailed off.

"A few years now. But I couldn't come back to Angel Grove until now. They would've found me. Also, you weren't here, so there really wasn't a point."

She smiled and blushed for a moment before looking him in the eyes. "Who's 'they'?"

Billy smiled back and sighed. "It's a long story."

Andy smirked. "I'm listening, Dr. Billy."

"Uh huh," he grinned, pulling her into his arms and laying back on the exam bed. "Tell you what... I'll tell you exactly what happened if you promise you'll stay in my arms throughout the entire story."

"I promise," she replied.

"Now, it's a long story... Are you sure?" Billy joked.

"Yeah, I don't think it will be a problem..." she flashed him a big smile. She had forgotten how good it felt to be in his arms.

"Good," he winked, knowing that it drove her crazy when he did that.

Andy blushed and snuggled closer to him.

Billy held her close, took in a deep breath, and began to tell his story.


	4. Chapter 4

**Chapter 4**

"Guys, check it out..." Tommy whispered to his fellow former Rangers as they teleported into the Command Center the next morning.

"Oh my gosh, look at this place!" Kim exclaimed.

Zack grinned. "You wouldn't believe how much work this took!"

"Yes, I would..." Kim was still in awe.

"You know, Kim, I did most of work..." Jason joked, slipping an arm around her waist as the group turned a corner.

"Uh huh, sure..." Adam playfully hit Jason in the arm. "You know that I was the one who really did all the work..."

"Hey now, what about me?!" Rocky spoke up, running a hand through his short brown hair.

"What about you?" Aisha laughed.

"Shhh, guys, look..." Kat stopped in front of the exam room where Billy and Andrea were asleep.

Tommy raised an eyebrow as he looked into the room. Both Billy and Andrea were asleep on the exam bed, and Billy had his arms wrapped around Andrea.

Billy, sensing someone was watching, slowly opened his eyes. Turning so he could see the doorway, he kept one arm around Andrea and ran his free hand through his sandy blonde hair. He felt his face turn red as he was greeted by 9 grinning Rangers. Smiling, he mouthed the word "Hey" to Tommy, and quietly climbed off of the bed. He leaned over and gave Andy a kiss on the cheek before walking over to the others.

"Ya know, you didn't have to get up, bro." Jason grinned as they followed Billy to the Power Chamber.

Billy just smirked and nodded.

Tommy placed a hand on Billy's shoulder. "So, uh, looks like you two made up?"

Billy grinned and turned the corner into the Power Chamber. "Maybe..."

"Maybe..." Tommy laughed.

"Hey, Tommy, have you seen Andrea? She didn't come back to the apartment last night." Erin Oliver asked her brother, without looking up from the control panel she was working on.

"Why don't you ask Billy," Tommy smirked, looking at his old friend.

"What? Tommy, you know that's not poss..." Erin turned to face the group. "Billy..."

"Hey, Erin." Billy walked over and gave her a quick hug. Erin just stood there.

"What are you doing here?"

"The same thing you all are doing here." He replied.

Erin was silent for a moment before speaking in a low voice. "I won't let you hurt her again."

"I don't intend to," Billy turned to face the entire group. "I didn't intend to the first time. You'll see that when you hear the whole story."

"Hmph. Yeah, right. And just what is the whole story, Billy?" Rocky's cousin, Melanie De Santos spoke up as she entered the Power Chamber.

"Um, do I know you?" Billy asked, confused as to who this woman was.

"No," Melanie stated as she walked over to her boyfriend, Adam. "But I feel as if I know you."

Billy sighed. "Why do I get the feeling that's not a good thing?" he muttered to himself.

"Billy, what's going on?" a sleepy Andrea asked from behind the group.

As Billy looked up, his face softened. "Hey, c'mere beautiful." he smiled, extending his left hand.

Andrea smiled and walked over to him, raking her fingers through her shoulder-length blonde hair and then taking his hand with her left hand. Billy grinned and spun her so that both of his arms were wrapped around her from behind. Andy leaned back against him as he rested his chin on the top of her head. The two looked back at the group.

"I guess I owe you all an explanation," Billy started.

Everyone nodded.

"Yeah, that'd be nice," Kat said.

He held Andrea closer and kissed the top of her head. "Alright, but I must warn you, it's not what you're expecting... But it's better that you hear this from me."

All eyes fixated on Billy as he began to speak again.


	5. Chapter 5

**Chapter 5**

"I'm not sure where to start; things have been really crazy lately..." Billy paused for a moment, trying to delay the inevitable. "I guess I should start by saying that I was the one who called you all here."

Twelve pairs of eyes stared at the former technical advisor... He ran a hand through his hair and continued: "As you all are aware, I left for Aquitar several years ago. What you don't know is what happened once I was there."

Andrea leaned back against Billy and looked up. He held her tighter and kissed her forehead; her support meant everything to him. "It didn't take very long for me to get back to normal, and I really did want to come back to Earth, back home. Anyway, I was looking around the Alien Rangers' version of the Command Center, checking out some of their extremely high- tech equipment... You wouldn't believe the things they're doing with Van de Graaff generators and neutrinos!... Not electron-neutrinos, though. Just muon-neutrinos and tau-neutrinos. Also, their work with Gluons and quarks is absolutely astounding!"

"Uh. what-what and what?" Rocky asked, completely confused.

Billy smiled. "Nevermind. Let's just leave it at I was checking some very high-tech equipment..." He paused before continuing. "I was leaning over a control panel, when Delphine attacked me from behind with some sort of metal rod..."

"What?!" Tanya exclaimed, cutting him off.

"Yeah, I know... I was still pretty weak from my experience, so I was basically helpless." Billy sighed, and Andrea turned around and hugged him. "You would think all those years as a Ranger would've taught me to watch my back no matter what," he chuckled ruefully, resting his head on top of Andy's again.

"Wait a minute... How do you know it was Delphine?" Jason asked. "I mean, no offense, bro., but that seems a little far-fetched."

"Well, in those brief few moments of consciousness after I hit my head on a control panel, I was able to get a good look at my attacker's face..." Billy stopped for a moment, the memories flooding his mind. "I remember lying down on a table of some kind, being unconscious, but able to hear everything that went on. I remember trying to move, but not being able to. Delphine was talking to Cestria, saying something about a transmission to Earth... They were planning on keeping me on Aquitar in order to help them..."

Kimberly and Zack could do nothing more than stare at the former blue Ranger as they absorbed all of the information he was giving them.

Billy continued to talk, never pausing to see their reactions. "Cestria thought she could keep pretending to be romantically interested in me, and that I returned the emotion. She wasn't interested in me, just my brain... what I could tell her about your weaknesses. She had no clue about Andy..."

"Oh, but I had heard all about her!" Andrea muttered against Billy's chest. "That little sl..."

Billy grinned, silencing Andy by placing two fingers over her mouth. "Anyway, from what I recall, they used an old transmission and then used a voice-over effect..."

"So that's why it sounded nothing like you!" Katherine exclaimed.

He nodded. "Exactly. And when Cestria told you all that I was so happy I was speechless, the reason I was speechless was that I was unconscious... Well, to make a very long story short, when the Alien Rangers were fighting with you, they were just assessing you. Seriously. I know it sounds crazy, but trust me. They've had their whole plot outlined for years... Which brings me to why you all are here."

Billy finally took a long pause, glancing at everyone in the Power Chamber. After what seemed like ages, he started to speak again.

"Guys, in three days, the Alien Rangers, with the exception of Cestro and Aurico, will try to destroy the Power." He sighed deeply. "Problem is: they're also using the Power. So, here's the challenge: What do you do when you have to fight the Power in order to keep the Power? Now, that's something to think about... " Billy closed his eyes for a moment, and rubbed his forehead as a horrible headache crashed through his head. "I really need to go lie down," He murmured to Andrea before stumbling out of the Power Chamber, not even awaiting a reaction from the others.

No one knew how hard it was for him to talk about what happened; not even Andy knew the whole story. Not even she, the love of his life, knew about the nightmares that still haunted his sleep after all these years...


	6. Chapter 6

I apologize in advance for the formatting of this chapter. QuickEdit has this weird thing with italics and such,which made this chapter hard to read/follow.

**Chapter 6**

_His feet, clad in blue converse sneakers, pounded the pavement outside of Angel Grove High. Throwing open the door, he raced down the hallways looking for room 1121. This was not how he imagined his first day of freshman year to be… late for his A.P. Biology class. He came to a screeching halt outside of the classroom. Slowly turning the doorknob, he took a deep breath before entering the room._

_Blocking his path to the desks was a rather large and rather scary looking teacher. _

_"Why are you late, young man?" she asked him, her voice deep and threatening as she tapped her yardstick on the linoleum floor._

_"I'm so sorry... my electric chronometer failed to perform its function this morning…" he replied in a quiet voice._

_The teacher… and the rest of the class… just stared at him, speechless, until a small female voice spoke up from the back of the classroom. "He said his alarm clock didn't go off."_

_"Oh… well then… um, please take your seat, young man." The teacher replied, a bit flustered._

_He heaved a sigh of relief and made his way back to where the voice had come from. As he sat down beside the girl, he smiled. "Thanks."_

_"No problem," she smiled back. _

_"My name is Billy," he extended his hand._

_"I'm Andrea," she shook his hand._

_"It's nice to meet you," the two said simultaneously._

Billy stirred slightly in his sleep, a small smile on his lips.

_"Billy!" Andrea laughed as they ran in the grass along side the lake in their formalwear; they had left the prom early that night._

_He chuckled and continued running. "C'mon!" he grabbed her hand. "It's just a little farther."_

_"Where are we going?"_

_"Right here," he grinned, coming to a stop underneath an old oak tree. "Look at that…" he pointed out to the lake, where the moonlight sparkled brilliantly on the water._

_"I've never seen it like that before…" Andrea replied in awe, leaning back against him. "It's beautiful!" she said softly._

_"Not as beautiful as you," he whispered in her ear as he held her close._

_She blushed and turned to face him. _

_"Andrea…" he whispered, caressing her face gently with his fingers, his eyes gazing into hers. There was something he desperately wanted to tell her… something he had wanted to say for a long time. He had been waiting for the perfect time, and that time was now. "Andrea," he started again. "I love you," he smiled._

_She blushed again. "I love you too, Billy," she smiled back._

_He grinned as he pulled her into a searing kiss._

But this is where the dream always changed

_His feet pounded the ground once again… but he did not recognize his surroundings. Shiny metal walls surrounded him; the floor he was running on sounded hollow under his boots. He had to escape. He could hear their voices; they were gaining on him. _

_"Hurry, this way!" his friend shouted to him from a doorway._

_Stumbling into the room, he stopped to catch his breath. "Thanks, guys," he panted._

_"Don't mention it," Cestro patted his old friend on the back._

_"Aren't you worried about what they will do to you for helping me?"_

_Aurico__ sighed. "Rangers stick together, Billy. At worst, they will exile us without food."_

_"Then come with me!" the young scientist exclaimed as the voices grew closer._

_Cestro__ shook his head. "I'm sorry; we cannot."_

_A deafening silence took hold of the situation for several seconds before Aurico looked at the Earthling. "I'm sorry, Billy…" he trailed off sadly._

_The door flew open revealing Delphine, Cestria, and three of their minions. _

_"Seize him!" Delphine ordered. _

_The minions grabbed the former Power Ranger by his arms and drug him backwards out the door._

_"No! Please!..." He struggled to free himself, looking up at Cestria with pleading eyes "Please…"_

"Please… no…. NO!" Billy awoke in a cold sweat, his heart pounding hard in his chest.

"Billy, are you okay?" Andrea raced into the room, a concerned look upon her face.

"Andy…." He said quietly, sitting up.

"Hey," she walked over and sat down beside him on the bed. "It's alright… it was just a dream, sweetie." She had never seen him so upset before. Billy was always the calm one, but now Andrea could see fear in his eyes. She slid an arm around him, and smoothed his blonde hair out of his face. "Shh… it's okay…."

"Talk about role reversal…" he whispered, laughing ruefully. Usually, it was _him_ who was comforting _her_.

She looked him in the eyes. "What was that about? What had you so scared?" she asked soothingly.

"It was… just another nightmare," Billy murmured as he noticed his gray shirt was soaked with sweat.

"_Another_ nightmare?"

"Yeah… um…" Billy pulled the shirt off over his head with ease. "I have the same one fairly often." He tossed the shirt aside and looked back at his girlfriend. "They start off with how we met," he motioned between him and Andy. "Then it moves on to Prom night, when I told you I loved you for the first time…" he smiled at the memory.

Andrea smiled back at him, also remembering that magical night.

But the scientist's smile quickly faded as he told her the other part of the dream.

"Oh, sweetie, I'm so sorry…" Andy pulled him into a hug.

Billy took in a deep breath as he felt her hands glide gently across his bare skin… this was something he hadn't felt in years; he hadn't realized he had missed it so much until now.

She pulled away, paying close attention to his facial expressions as she slid one hand down his arm and the other down his chest.

"Andrea…"

"Hmm?"

Longing had replaced the fear in his eyes. He wrapped his arms around her and kissed her passionately as he lay back on the bed, pulling her on top of him.

She smiled against his lips as her fingers lightly traced the muscles of his chest and abdomen. "Still working out, I see…" she murmured.

"Absolutely," he murmured back, grinning. He kissed her again, his tongue catching hers in a seductive dance.

Andrea moaned lightly, becoming lost in the moment. It had been so long…

Billy's arms tightened around her as he continued to kiss her. He allowed one hand to travel under her shirt and gently massage the small of her back.

She whimpered softly; her skin burning and tingling from his touch.

::CRASH!::

Billy and Andy looked up to see where the noise had come from. Standing just beyond the open doorway was Rocky.

"Heh… sorry guys," he grinned sheepishly, picking up the box of supplies he had dropped. "Um… carry on," he said, before making a hasty retreat.

Andrea sighed. "I've got to learn to lock the door!"

Billy laughed, his green eyes sparkling. "I guess that means we should go get some work done…." he said softly, fingering the pendant around Andy's neck.

"I guess…" Andy chuckled nervously as she climbed out of the bed. She looked back at a still shirtless Billy and smirked before leaning down and kissing him gently.

He smiled as she pulled away, and watched as she walked out the door. A funny feeling came over him… he felt as if Andrea was keeping something from him. "Nah, she wouldn't keep anything from me," he reassured himself before crawling out of bed and finding a new shirt.


	7. MmmTarzan

**Mmmmm…Tarzan.**

Confusion surged through her brain as she stared at the new world around her. If not for the magnificence of the view she could have been terrified. But how could one be frightened when staring up at this lush green canopy? This foreign jungle spread for countless miles in every direction. Whoever was complaining about the shrinking rainforest had, clearly, never seen its vast size.

The nearly deafening din of monkey chatter and parrot squawks suddenly ended, as if the conductor of this tropical orchestra had waved his baton for silence. A rustle in the overhead branches told her that not all of the instruments were so willing to be silenced.

Unless, she thought, this was the master conductor.

The terror that had not bothered to enter her mind now consumed it. She was unarmed in a foreign world, about to meet that world's master. An unnatural feeling arose inside her; she wanted to run.

The rustling overhead ceased, all was still. She wanted this to be relieving, but it only heightened her fear. Every animal in this jungle was staring at her, the intruder. The tension was so unbearable that she was grateful when the branches overhead shook violently and an animal leapt out at her.

She fell to the ground to avoid the attack. The animal landed at her feet, its back to her. In her shocked state, the girl did not have the sense to escape, but lie there on the leaf-covered floor staring at her attacker. In the brief second before it turned to face her, she studied the animal's back. It was an ape, huge and hairless. She could trace the muscled in its back and could clearly see long lines of scars from where this ape had fought with leopards. The leopards had left souvenirs, but what had this creature given in return?

There was no time to contemplate the gruesome response; the ape turned its sight on her. It…no, he. He stared at her from under his lowered eyebrows. His eyes were dark and intelligent; they surveyed her fallen form before moving closer.

He walked with his knuckles, like a gorilla, his shoulder blades jutting out from his back, making him look larger than he actually was. Even if he was not as larger as she initially thought, he was till larger than she. The muscles flexed under his tan skin; they were enormous muscles, made to look even larger by the dirt tracing under them like heavy shadows. How easily could he snap a lion's neck? Surely, it would take far more effort than to break a human neck. The thought kept her frozen as he approached.

He was by her side now, leaning nearer to her. When she saw him shift all his weight to his legs, freeing his hands (for the kill?), she clenched her eyes tightly closed. She did not want to see the attack that would end her life. She waited, and nothing came. She considered opening her eyes, but was far too terrified. And then it came, finally, but not quite as violently as she had expected.

The movements were gentle, even if the skin was rough. His hand was on her face. It traced the line of her lips, her jawbone, and moved down to her neck. She relaxed under his touch. His other hand joined in pushing the hair from her shoulders so that they might better trace the line of her collarbones. She felt something brush against her face, tickling her skin. She cracked one eye open. This ape-man was still concentrating on her throat; a curtain of dark curls veiling his face.

Knowing full well that it might be a stupid idea, but not really caring, she slowly moved her arm. Yes. It was a stupid idea. The ape-man jumped at the movement, grabbing her arm in his vice-hand.

"I'm sorry," she grasped. "Please let go!"

He consented, releasing her from his grip. Rather that return it to the ground, she let her arm hang in mid air for a moment before slowly, carefully inching it toward him again. It was painstakingly slow. He frequently flinched at her approach, forcing her to top and let him accept the proximity. Eventually he realized he was not a threat and allowed her to come near. It seemed to take hours for her fingers to finally touch his face. She moved his hair away from his face, tucking it behind his ears; always her movements were slow, always gentle. He allowed her hand to linger on his face. His skin was warm, moist from sweat and gritty with dirt.

His almond eyes watched her intently as she finally removed her fingertips from his skin. The dark orbs seemed to glisten with an emotion she could not quite place; though she would soon be able to guess what it was as he moved close and buried his face in her neck.

Looking up from the control panel she was currently working on, Tanya noticed Billy staring off into space. His eyebrows were lowered in both confusion and concern. Tanya followed his eyes. He was looking through the open infirmary doors to a bed where Melanie was taking a fitful nap.

"Billy," Tanya poked his shoulder.

"Is she…" he looked from Tanya to Melanie, searching for the right word.

"She's fine." Tanya assured him.

"But, then…"

"Trust me," she smiled, her eyes mischievous. "It's just Tarzan again."

"Tarzan…" He looked back at the girl, thrashing in her sleep. "Here I would have expected her to be dreaming about Adam."

Tanya giggled. "She is."

Billy looked across the Power Chamber to where Adam and Andrea were squatting in front of a service panel, fiddling with wires. Adam's long hair was tucked messily behind his ears, a smudge of grease on his face. All too easily could Billy see him as the Tarzan of Melanie's dreams. He shook his head violently, dislodging the image before it permanently warped his view of Adam.

Tanya giggled again, loudly enough that Adam looked up from his work. He saw the two turn away quickly, giggling conspiratorially, and he knew.

"Tanya!" he shouted. "You promised!"

"I couldn't help it," she pointed at the infirmary.

"I'm going to go put on a parka!" Adam declared, and marched from the Power Chamber, metal doors slamming shut behind him. Billy wasn't sure how a pair of mechanical doors managed to sound so angry as they closed.

Without a word, Andrea got up from her crouched position and followed behind Adam, the doors closing much quieter this time.

Tanya and Billy paused, wondering if they should apologize. They decided against it, and chose, instead, to burst out laughing. The sudden ruckus woke Melanie from her sleep. The dejected look on her face told them that they had woken her at the most inopportune moment. This only made their laughter worse.

"Where's Adam?" This was not the question to ask.

Billy pointed to Tanya as he doubled over with laughter. Tanya had to hold her side for a moment. And gasping for breath, she managed to say: "He's over there."

"Why is he in there?"

"He's," she gasped again, "getting a parka…"

"So we won't," Billy was finally able to speak, "see him as……as……."Laughter overtook them again as they attempted to say the name.

"See him as what?" Melanie thought she knew, but was hoping Tanya hadn't told.

"TARZAN!" Billy blurted. And the pair collapsed one the ground.

"Tanya!!!"

Melanie stormed from the Power Chamber, hoping that they were too busy to notice that she was making her exit into the room where her Tarzan was hiding.

"Oh…." Tanya gasped. "I don't know who's worse: Melanie or Andrea!" She giggled again, but she was the only one this time. Billy was silent, looking at her like she had just broken his favorite mass spectrometer.

"Billy…"she started, wanting to explain what she had meant. But the man was up and gone from the Power Chamber before she got the chance to figure out how to explain herself.


End file.
